


Day Two Hundred Seventy-Four || A Dark and Stormy Night

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [274]
Category: Naruto, Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 15:20:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20876366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: Nothing but trouble comes of nights like these. Or, in Sasuke's case...maybe not TROUBLE, exactly. But something unknown...





	Day Two Hundred Seventy-Four || A Dark and Stormy Night

Of _course_ his night off is a dreary, rainy one.

Granted, Sasuke doesn’t much mind weather like this. It gives him even more excuse to stay inside and avoid...well, just about everybody. Which is typically pretty easy to do, given that his current job is a graveyard shift, making him practically nocturnal at this point. The perfect excuse to keep to himself and avoid pretty much any social gathering people want to try to drag him to.

But, still...that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like to go out and do things on his own. Which is a little harder to do when the sky decides to pour to the point he considers investing in a boat. Sure, most anything there is to do during his typical wakeful hours is indoors, but that means going out to his car, and from his car to...wherever. And he’s really not sure it’s worth the hassle. He already took a shower, he doesn’t need another one.

Staring out of his ground-level apartment, he mostly just watches the rain fall, droplets catching the light in the streetlamp beam across the street. He’s got the pane cracked just enough to hear it, not wanting to let in all the cool air. It’s October, after all...which means he really should be expecting weather like this.

But when there’s a flash of lightning and a rather quick following of thunder, he pauses. Oh...so now it’s a full-blown storm, huh? He...might want to prepare in case the power goes out. Getting up, he fills a gallon pitcher with water, making sure he’s got candles and matches at the ready should the lights go out. He can’t remember the last time there was an actual thunder storm, let alone one that sounds like it’s right on top of him.

He can’t help but think of the cliché phrase, _on a dark and stormy night_...maybe he’s due for something spooky to happen, right? After all, it _is_ October...it’s pretty much the perfect setting. Sticking his flashlight in his back pocket, he yawns and stretches. He’s only been up for about an hour, but the rain has a habit of making him sleepy, no matter the hour.

Once his place is thoroughly power outage ready, he collapses back atop the couch, leaning up against the spine and bracing an elbow atop it. Cradling his jaw in his palm, he decides to waste a little more time watching the storm. Best not to risk turning on any electronics while the lightning’s around, anyway...so this is his best bet for entertainment.

The strikes slowly grow in frequency, and Sasuke can’t help but wonder how long it’s going to last...and if the power is really going to make it through the -

Just as he thinks it, everything suddenly goes off, lights dimming to darkness. There’s a sigh, sitting for the moment as he waits to see if it will come back. A few moments pass in silence save for the fall of rain and the rumble of thunder. Then, with a hum, everything powers back on, including the street lamp on the other side of the street.

...and that’s when he sees her.

Blinking, he questions what he just saw. It was like she just...fell from the sky? With a few stumbled steps, she comes to a stop beneath the lamplight, panting and soaked to the bone: a woman of dark hair and fair skin that glows in the beam.

...okay, surely she just sort of...jumped. That’s all. Brow furrowed, Sasuke watches her. Looking around frantically, she hugs arms around her middle, hunched against the wet and cold. She looks...lost. What the hell is she doing on foot, in the middle of the night, and during a storm, no less?

A mix of worry and suspicion weighs in his gut. She looks unnerved, flinching at every flash of lightning. Something isn’t right here...but he’s wary to intervene.

His mother, however, didn’t raise a boy who leaves a woman in need of help. Sighing and grumbling to himself, he heads out into the hallway before standing under the awning just outside his building. “...hey!”

At his voice, she jumps...literally, almost seeming to float back a few feet in surprise, and maybe a little fear.

Frowning, Sasuke calls, “...you okay?”

She stares at him, expression torn between fear and relief. “...I-I’m...I’m lost.”

Sasuke heaves a heavy sigh. “...get over here, out of the rain! You’re gonna catch your death out there!”

Fringe dripping past her eyes, she seems to weigh her odds before acquiescing. Trotting across the street, she looks up at his building before standing beneath the awning.

...it’s then he notices she’s not wearing any shoes…?

“What the hell are you doing out here?”

“I...I got caught out in it on my way - m-my way home,” she explains, teeth beginning to chatter.

A stressed hand runs back through his hair. “...well don’t just stand there. C’mon, you can dry off in here. We need to get you warm.”

Blinking large, pale eyes, she follows him back into the building, and then into his apartment. “...thank you.”

“The hell are you doing out without shoes?”

“I...I lost them…”

“...uh huh.” Leading her into the bathroom, he fetches a clean towel and tosses it over her. “Here...dry off best you can. I have a heated blanket you can use, least until the power goes out.”

Still she stares at him, and he can’t help but feel looked _through_...those eyes of hers are unsettling. Thanking him again, she starts toweling off, wringing at her hair.

In the interim, Sasuke digs out the heated blanket, knowing he’ll need it himself soon enough when the weather gets colder. Plugged in and heating, he leaves it on the couch and waits.

“You, uh...want some tea or something?”

“No, thank you...y-you’re doing enough. Besides, it...it might not be done before the power g-goes out again.”

...good point. Instead, he lingers awkwardly before she emerges, a good share drier now. “You can, uh...just sit there, get warmed up. You need to call someone?”

Taking a ginger seat, she huddles under the blanket. “...no…”

“You sure? No one’s going to be worried about you being out in this?”

As if given a great weight, she hunches forward, eyes misty. “...no...no one.”

Sensing he’s touched a nerve, he lets that rest, sitting quietly on the other side of the couch. “...you picked a hell of a night to be out and about.”

“I was...visiting a friend. The storm came out of n-nowhere.”

“...how did you lose your shoes?”

“...I...t-they were some cheap sandals. They, um...o-one broke a strap, and I...I fell. I couldn’t wear it, so I...I just left them there.”

Sasuke looks to her cautiously.

...she’s lying. He knows it. But why…? Why lie about missing shoes? “...why didn’t you just stay at your friend’s place?”

“You’re asking an a-awful lot of questions,” she counters softly.

“Well it’s a little freaky when a chick just...shows up in front of my apartment, soaking wet in a storm, with no shoes, and looking like she was floating.”

At his last word, she tenses.

“...who are you?”

“M...my name is Hinata.”

Sasuke weighs his options. “..._what_ are you…?”

“P-please don’t...don’t ask me that. I can’t...I-I can’t…”

Apprehension builds. “..you’re not human, are you?”

“Please…!”

“What are you?” As she tries to get up, he grabs her arms. “Look, I’m not gonna hurt you!”

“But _they_ will! If they found out - i-if they knew -!”

“Who? Is someone trying to hurt you?”

“I-I’m sorry...thank you for your help, but...I have to go!”

“Wait, it’s not -!”

Like a heavy blanket, darkness falls again as the power fails. Sasuke stiffens, attempting to keep his hold, but Hinata slips from his grip, suddenly smooth and...and…?

There’s a strange fluttering sound, then the creak and slam of his door. Trying to follow, he fumbles for his flashlight, the bulb flickering as batteries near death. “Ugh, damn it -!” Managing to stumble to the lobby, he lurches through the door just as the power returns.

In the halo of the streetlamp, there’s a flicker of feathers...and then nothing but the rain.

Panting and dripping, Sasuke stands and stares, not quite comprehending what he just saw. Above him, lightning flashes, the thunder sounding more and more distant.

What...the hell was that?

**Author's Note:**

> ...I'll be honest, I dunno what this is, exactly xD I just couldn't think of something that fit very well in the verses that I write, so...this is sorta kinda supposed to be Nightwalkers, aka my monster verse. Hinata's supposed to be a harpy caught in the weather, helped by a kind human who's not supposed to know what she is. If he were to find out...it would put her in grave danger.
> 
> But it COULD, if you read it that way, be some kind of...angel verse? It's vague enough it could fit xD Up to the reader, I suppose!
> 
> Anyway, I had...a VERY long day, so I'm gonna sign off there. Things, I hope, are going to slow down a little, so MAYBE I'll have a chance to catch up! I'm only a day behind, but I've got another event going on, so...I can't make any promises. And life will probably still be busy to some degree. Lots going on! But, enough out of me: thanks for reading!


End file.
